Fair Exhibit Booths A Rare Commodity

Here's a message for people who would like to secure an exhibit booth at the Central Florida Fair this year but haven't yet submitted their official requests: Get on the ball.

''That's right,'' said Herschel H. Parrish Jr., now in his third year as fair secretary-manager. ''We're just about ready to put the lid on our last- minute details, and I don't want to disappoint anyone by not having a place to put them.''

The 74th edition of the Central Florida Fair is scheduled to run Feb. 27 through March 9 at the fairgrounds, 4603 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando. Booth space and other fair information may be obtained by calling (305) 295-3247.

''I know how much work goes into all those community exhibits but the public really does enjoy sharing them,'' said Parrish, son of Pete Parrish, who managed the fair for more than three decades.

One of the highlights of the 1986 fair -- but booked only for Feb. 27, 28, March 1 and 2 -- is a spectacular All-American Draft Horse Show.

Three-dot data: Lyman High School graduate Kristine Zajowski, 20, daughter of Pat and Mike Zajowski of Longwood, is a contestant in the 1986 Miss University of Florida Pageant in the UF Auditorium today at 8 p.m. She's a jazz dancer, a telecommunications major, and member of Golden Key National Honor Society. . . .

Reuben Greenberg, former Orange County chief deputy sheriff, evidently is doing a crackerjack job as police chief in Charleston, S.C. At least that was the message conveyed Sunday by CBS in a profile of him on 60 Minutes. . . .

60 Minutes' producer Don Hewitt, in case you haven't heard, is scheduled to speak at Dinner with the Authors, March 22 at Wyndham Hotel Sea World. Hewitt is also author of a new book, Minute by Minute. Other authors on the program: Josephine Humphreys (Dreams of Sleep) and Robert B. Parker (Spenser mystery novels). For ticket information, call the community relations department at Orlando Public Library, (305) 425-4694. Approximately 600 tickets have already been sold. . . .

The Illinighters, a club that helps former Illinois residents adjust to Central Florida life, meets the second Wednesday of each month in the Senior Citizens Club on Lake Triplett Drive in Casselberry at 7:30 p.m. . . .

Lincoln Smith of Altamonte Springs, drummer in the Diamond Horseshoe Revue at Walt Disney World, said that when he asks for the non-smoking section at a restaurant in his neighborhood, the hostess seats him at a table, then removes the ashtray.

Sour root stock: Overheard in the corridor in one of Central Florida's institutions of higher learning: ''I never see you take any notes in class. You must have a photogenic mind.''